The invention generally relates to a parts sorter, and more particularly to an optical tablet and capsule counter for use in the pharmaceutical industry.
Optical counters for counting tablets and/or capsules have been known in the pharmaceutical industry for some time. Such counters take various forms. It is generally the common goal of such counters to reduce a pile of tablets or capsules to a single one-dimensional row so that they may be counted as they move past an optical sensor. Some of the various systems for accomplishing the same include rotational and linear vibrators, rotating discs, air jets, gravity feeds, moving belts, etc. Each system has its benefits and drawbacks.
Among the difficulties encountered by optical tablet or capsule counter systems are the requirements of: having a high throughput and accuracy; allowing different size tablets and capsules to be accommodated without undergoing extensive or difficult adjustments in the machine; providing an automatic feed and collection of tablets and capsules in excess of a selected or desired quantity; and providing for the tablets and capsules to be deposited directly into a final container, all with the goal of providing a relatively small sized, reliable counter. In the past, in order to obtain some of the goals, various other goals have been ignored or highly compromised. Typically, high count rate and highly accurate machines have been large in size, while smaller machines have been less accurate or have suffered from low throughput. Moreover, the art has not provided any small, high count rate, accurate machines capable of accommodating various tablet and capsule sizes without difficult machine adjustments.